The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-13
THE FLOOD SUBSIDING.
WHAT THE PLANTERS THINK OF
THE SITUATION.

The Outlook for Second Crop Very
Unfavorable-But Little Chance of
Saving What is in the Fields-An In
teresting Letter from MIR. j. B. Hey
ward on the Subject.
Mr.. Joseph Clay stated yesterday after
noon that the water had fallen six inches at
his place. His banks had been greatly
strengthened, and he thought they were all
sufficiently strong now to resist the present
flood and the expected freshet. He was en-
deavoring to procure some more bags here
for the purpose of filling them with dirt,
and placing them on the weaker portions of
his banks, but he said the market seemed
high and the supply scarce. There has been
great demand the last few days, and the sup
ply pretty well exhausted Mr. Henry Taylor
was seen in the afternoon and asked regard
ing the situation up the river, prospects,
etc. We'll" said he, with a smile, II
don't see that there is much to add to the
MORNING NEWS very complete account
1t gave the exact state of affairs The
situation is very dismal one certainly,
and the planters generally look on the
worst side. We hope that little may be
saved, but that is hope almost against our
convictions. We never had such an expe-
rience before and no one knows
the amount of damage it will
G,t Rice is a very hardy plant.
it will come through this and the coming
freshet with any life in it, The very hour
that rice is under water, when in the later
stages, its becomes damaged and the longer
It is submerged the more damage is caused.
So you see there dosn't seem much hope for
saving any portion of the crop. AS for the
second crop, when the water subsidies, the
long rice stalks will fall down and
be mixed up in one inextricable tangle,
and it is a question in my
mind whether or no the second growth
would sprout and grow under such circum-
stances. After the usual rice harvest a
second crop starts up but then the field is
all open and clean and the young growth
has chance to live Therefore, while |
hope for the best, really consider the crop
total loss. And on top of that comes the
repair item, which will amount to con-
siderable sum if the river keeps tearing our
banks away much longer"
The following letter from Mr.. James B.
Hayward gives some very interesting infor-
nation concerning the flood:
ARGYLE ISLAND, Aug. 12, Noon.
| hope that the immense interests at stake
in the Savannah river bottoms
viii be sufficient apology for writing
you few lines about this and other
freshets. This is our fifth day of sIbmersion
AS usual in freshets of thirty feet and over the
highest point at my house is reached on the
ninth day, beginning to count from the time the
river reaches twenty -hve feet at Augusta. AS
usual also il continued to rise three days, then
commenced to fall. Up to date it has fallen ten
inches So far then, the behavior of this de-
structive body -: of water has been
in no way unlike other such bodies
beyond the fact that the highest
point reached was seventeen inches higher
than that of either of the other thirteen fresh
latest period of the season that have ever wit
as seven days was by the freshet of July 10, 1885
All planters know that my old rice' must have
been in the hollow joint" l saved fifty acres
of that crop, and it yielded thirty bushels of
good rice per acre. II may be pertinent just
here TO state that that fifty acres had been sub
merged for eight days in April, again for ten
days in June, and for the third time for seven
days in July. With all this twenty-five days of
complete, but not consecutive, submersion, do
not think that the harvest retarded over
twenty days The balance of my crop was q
total loss from other causes but the outcome
of this fifty acres proved to my mind the i'm
mense vitality of the rice plant upon land suf-
ticiently fertile to develope its recuperative
powers.
II is with this experience that l venture the
opinion that the young rice may be saved. /
have carefully examined mine to-day, and it is
full of life yet My old rice is commencing to
sprout, so that of this three-fourths of my crop
the only hope is for it to form new head.
This is possible. JAMES b. Hayward.